Michael O'Neill accepts Northern Ireland's Euro 2024 course has already hit choppy waters, but believes he can still navigate a path to next year's finals in Germany.
An opening qualifying win against San Marino last Thursday was followed by a disappointing home defeat to Finland on Sunday night.
Dropping points at Windsor Park was an early body blow for O'Neill, in a group where surprise results could determine who qualifies for Euro 2024.
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Group H is already looking congested, with Northern Ireland one of four teams locked on three points.
"It's part of the job," said O'Neill when asked about plotting a way out of the group.
"We had big wins in the past on the road so it's not something that maybe Northern Ireland teams are known for but I think we developed an ability to win away from home.
"I think in this group if you can do that it may turn the group on its head a little bit. Certainly we're in a situation where we're going to have to make up some result somewhere because we've lost three points at home, and that's something I certainly believe this group of players are capable of doing."
O'Neill insists there are plenty of positives to glean from his first camp as returning manager.
The performances of teenagers Conor Bradley and Shea Charles were two massive plus points for the Northern Ireland boss, while young Everton midfielder Isaac Price also tasted senior international action for the first time.
"With all the players, I've really enjoyed it. It's been a great week," O'Neill said.
"The preparation has been excellent. We got a lot from the group in a short space of time.
"They know how to work, a lot of detail went into the preparation and we asked a lot of them. I think their application and attention was first class.
"We just hope that when we get ready in June we're able to put another layer of preparation on top of it because of the timeframe coming in.
"I know some of the older players, there's a lot of players who hadn't worked under me for that length of time and we were a little bit challenged with the preparation time that we had."
'Neill also believes Northern Ireland's youngsters will learn more from Sunday's disappointment than Thursday's win against San Marino.
He added: "I think always of course you do. Maybe we played with a little bit, I wouldn't say panic but we played maybe the last 20 minutes like it was the five or 10 minutes of the game.
"That comes with experience, that comes with know-how, and those players are caught up in the moment.
"They're learning at international level so we have to be mindful of that. I think you always learn more from these types of games than you do from games that are quite comfortable and you're expected to win.
"For me, I wouldn't say this defeat was a reality check. I just think it's a disappointing result, that's where we're at."
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